Havelock on the rise, according to survey

Published: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at 03:35 PM.

The website NerdWallet ranked Havelock seventh in its North Carolina cities on the rise survey that rated overall growth.

Havelock had a growth score of 37.6, which combined numbers for working age population growth, employment growth and median income growth.

Mooresville, with a score of 57.2, topped the survey, while Jacksonville (45.5) was third and New Bern (40.4) was fourth.

This is the second year in a row that Havelock has made a top 10 list from NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website. In 2013, Havelock was ranked as the 10th best city in the state for young families.

“I was excited about it,” Mayor Will Lewis said of the recent survey that covered from 2009 to 2012. “This is a ranking of the top cities in the state that have a population of 20,000 or more and we came in seventh overall for growth, so that’s good. That’s exciting for Havelock. Last year, we got one for being one of the best places for families and maybe this is a further inclination to look at that.”

The website NerdWallet ranked Havelock seventh in its North Carolina cities on the rise survey that rated overall growth.

Havelock had a growth score of 37.6, which combined numbers for working age population growth, employment growth and median income growth.

Mooresville, with a score of 57.2, topped the survey, while Jacksonville (45.5) was third and New Bern (40.4) was fourth.

This is the second year in a row that Havelock has made a top 10 list from NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website. In 2013, Havelock was ranked as the 10th best city in the state for young families.

“I was excited about it,” Mayor Will Lewis said of the recent survey that covered from 2009 to 2012. “This is a ranking of the top cities in the state that have a population of 20,000 or more and we came in seventh overall for growth, so that’s good. That’s exciting for Havelock. Last year, we got one for being one of the best places for families and maybe this is a further inclination to look at that.”

In employment growth, Havelock showed growth of 11.1 percent.

“That was good. I don’t know that I knew that before I saw it,” Lewis said. “It said it was from 2009 to 2012, so I don’t know if Walmart may have factored into that with increased jobs and then the Freedom Shoppes across the street if that kind of increased those employment numbers. I’m sure it had something to do with FRC East and some of the things that they have been through over the last couple of years. It’s good to know that the employment opportunities have actually increased for the citizens of Havelock.”

Havelock had a median income growth of 8.3 percent in the research.

“I am happy to see the growth in employment and median income, especially during the time of 2009 to 2012,” said Stephanie Duncan, executive director of the Havelock Chamber of Commerce. “While most cities in the U.S. were experiencing a decline, Havelock was growing in those categories. The numbers reiterate what we have said all along — Havelock is resistant to the economic factors the majority of the United States faces.”

Havelock did show a 7.2 percent decline in working age population growth, a factor Lewis said was most likely caused by military deployments.

Lewis said the survey not only gives residents a sense of pride, but could also lead to more growth.

“It shows that our area is growing,” he said. “To get other people to come here and the get other businesses to come here, it is real numbers that show we’re a great place to live to anybody looking from the outside. If you’ve never been here, maybe that’s the only information you see. If it’s in the top 10, it makes people pay attention to it.”